The Portal Traveler's Tale
by GeneticallyElvenGryffindor
Summary: (HPLotR crossover) Patrick, a young wizard, learns that the Wizarding World and Middle Earth aren't all that far appart. (Apperances by lots of Lord of the Rings characters. Updated! Elrond, The Order, and a little dark haired elfling)
1. The Newest Addition

(AN: This is sort of a companion piece to my other story The Howling of the Hounds. It kind of gives a back story to Patrick, my portal traveling wizard from the above mentioned story.)  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the extended Dolan family and Hound's Hollow (including all of its subsidiary locations). The rest of this stuff is property of its proper owners. I'm a broke college student who writes to pass the time before classes.  
  
"What do you think it's going to be?" a tallish young man asked the group gathered around him.  
  
"Definitely another boy," called one.  
  
"A girl, she had a boy last time," countered another.  
  
"A both," two girls, in unison, called, making the entire group laugh.  
  
"What don't we ask the soon to be former baby?" someone suggested, looking at the little boy sitting placidly on her lap.  
  
"So, do you want a brother or a sister?" someone asked the child.  
  
The little boy, no more than three years old, thought carefully and called, "Cookie!"  
  
The group laughed. The little boy didn't really understand what was going on; he was still far too young. An uneasy silence fell over the group. The older children were worried about their mother and the new brother and sister she was about to have. The younger ones were bored and just wanted to go home.  
  
"It's been a really long time, I'm worried," a younger girl said to an older boy.  
  
"These things take time. Besides, they're using the most advanced magical techniques available," the older boy said, trying to calm his sister down.  
  
"I hope you're right," the eldest of all the girls said, a threat in her voice.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" one of the older boys said, a challenge in his voice.  
  
The girl was about to respond when a man burst into the room.  
  
"What is it, dad?" one of the older children asked the ecstatic looking man.  
  
The man, of medium build and a shock of reddish-brown hair, proudly stated, "A boy!"  
  
"Is mom alright?" asked a younger girl, her voice full of concern. "She's fine. They'll let you in to see her later," the man said, grin still on his face.  
  
"Well, that settles it then.an even split," said a girl.  
  
"Yup," her twin concurred, "four and four."  
  
The father laughed and looked at his first seven children. There was the eldest, a sullen and moody girl named Eileen. Following her was Kevin, the ladies man, every witch's dream. After him came his twin girls, Maura and Colleen. The two of them were excellent students and loved school above all else. Another boy, Collin, followed them. Collin was the family's Quiddich star. After him came, Kelly. She was the popular one, having more friends than she knew what to do with. Then there was little Patrick. Despite being only three, he knew Patrick was going to be the quiet one. All of his children shared his reddish-brown hair and had ocean blue eyes. All of them, that is, except for little Patrick. He had carrot orange hair and light blue eyes. It seemed that the new baby would deviate from the norm as well. He had jet black hair on his head.  
  
"Dad, what's his name?" asked Kelly.  
  
"Yeah," added Collin, "you never mentioned that part to us."  
  
The father thought for a moment. It appeared that, in all of the excitement, he had forgotten what he and his wife had named the new baby.  
  
"Christopher. His name is Christopher," the father, finally, replied.  
  
"You hear that, Patrick, you have a little brother named Christopher," Maura told the little boy sitting on her lap.  
  
Patrick smiled, following the lead of the rest of his family. He wasn't really sure what they were smiling about but he followed suit.  
  
"Ok!" he replied, happily.  
  
The father kissed all of his children and too the eldest of the bunch to see their mother.  
  
The new baby was brought home a few days later. This family lived in a small wizarding village called Hound's Hollow. The mansion, called Hound's Tooth, had been the home of the Dolan wizarding family since before anyone could remember.  
  
An old looking witch was waiting in the door way.  
  
As soon as the entire family set foot in the house, she said, "Let me see my new grandson."  
  
Baby Christopher was handed off to his grandmother while the older children headed off to their rooms.  
  
Little Patrick stuck around though. He liked the new baby and decided to make friends with him. He wanted to be a big brother, just like all of his big brothers.  
  
(AN: Like it? Hate it? Please read and review. Constructive criticism please!) 


	2. The Brother's Dolan

(AN: Please read and review. I thrive on reviewer's comments. They help me continue the nerve to keep uploading these stories. I would love some constructive criticism! I'm always looking to improve my work.)  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the extended Dolan family and Hound's Hollow (including all of its subsidiary locations). The rest of this stuff is property of its proper owners. I'm a broke college student who writes to pass the time before classes. (I really do write between college classes.in the halls, in the café, in the labs, and in the library.)  
  
Despite the three year gap between them, Patrick and Christopher were inseparable. It was a rare occasion to see one without the other. They were an unlikely set of friends though. Patrick was very quiet and loved to learn. Christopher, nicknamed Chris by his older siblings, was very loud. He also developed a propensity to play tricks on other people. The two brothers even aspired to careers down totally divergent paths. Patrick wanted to make wands. He had started to develop the necessary skills to do so. He could tell anyone, related to him or not, what kind of wand they needed to use. Christopher, on the other hand, wanted to be either a professional Quiddich player or a dragon keeper. Both professions seemed unlikely for the young wizard, though. Even before his entrance into Hogwarts, he showed a tremendous aptitude for the defense against the dark arts..  
  
A few years later.  
  
"How come I can't go with you?" Chris asked Patrick.  
  
The Dolan's were headed for Platform 9 and ¾ where Maura, Colleen, Collin, Kelly, and Patrick would catch the Hogwarts Express.  
  
"You're still too little, Chris. You can come to Hogwarts the year after next," answered Colleen.  
  
That, of course, translated into forever for the youngest Dolan.  
  
Colleen and Maura were headed into their seventh, and final, year at Hogwarts. Collin was in his fifth year and Kelly was in her fourth year. Patrick was headed into his second year at Hogwarts.  
  
"But I wanna go," Chris whined.  
  
He hated being the only one home. Eileen had run away years earlier and Kevin had started a popular rock band called the "Howling Hounds."  
  
"Don't worry little guy," Collin said, with a cheeky smile, "we'll send you lots of owls."  
  
"And things from Hogsmeade, especially candy!" added Kelly.  
  
"Don't forget, we'll be home for Christmas," called Patrick, who felt bad about leaving his little brother.  
  
"But still," Chris pouted, "it's not the same."  
  
"I know," soothed Maura, as she crossed the barrier with her twin.  
  
"Make sure all of you behave yourselves and be careful this year," the mother called, as all her children, save Chris, boarded the scarlet steam engine.  
  
"We will, mom. Stop worrying," called Collin.  
  
"You two will keep an eye on the rest of them, won't you?" she implored the twins.  
  
"Of course we will, mom," replied Maura.  
  
"You can count on us," added Colleen.  
  
Due to their exceptional grades, the twins had both been made Head Girl.  
  
As the train pulled away, Patrick caught sight of his mother waving and his teary eyed little brother.  
  
"Get out of here, squirt," said Kelly, "I'm expecting company."  
  
The twins were in the front car with the prefects and Collin was, already, with the Quiddich team. As Patrick stepped out of the cabin, a bunch of giggly girls entered. He sighed, feeling more alone that usual. He missed his brother. 


	3. Meeting the Future Marauders

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the extended Dolan family and Hound's Hollow (including all of its subsidiary locations). The rest of this stuff is property of its proper owners. I'm a broke college student who writes to pass the time before classes. (I really do write between college classes. in the halls, in the café, in the labs, and in the library.)  
  
Patrick had just been thrown out of his car by his own sister. He was on his own, having to search out a cabin for himself.  
  
"They're probably all full," the little red-head thought to himself.  
  
He walked up and down the halls of the train, thinking the entire time. He, like everyone else in his family, was a Gryffindor. He never really understood why, though. He was exceptionally brave or wonderfully courageous. He was just plain old Patrick-next to the youngest of eight children.  
  
As he walked, he passed several cars of anxious looking first years. He remembered that, when he was a first year, he wasn't nervous at all. After all, what were older siblings good for if not to tell you all about the horrors and joys of going to school.  
  
"Hey, you there, can you come here for a second?" called one of the first years.  
  
"What can I do for you?" Patrick asked the young boy who called him over.  
  
He was a thinnish young man with unruly black hair and hazel eyes under glasses.  
  
"We have two questions for you?" asked another in the compartment.  
  
This time it was a tall, shaggy haired boy who had spoken.  
  
"Go on," Patrick urged, taking stock of the first years.  
  
"We think this bloke is sick. Are we there yet?" the first boy asked.  
  
He pointed to a young boy with light brown hair and slightly rumbled robes. He was sleeping on the seat across from the boy with the glasses.  
  
"And when is the snack cart coming? There is a snack cart, right?" asked the fourth person in the compartment.  
  
This boy was chubby, with small runny eyes. He was, all together a very unthreatening looking character.  
  
Patrick thought for a few minutes, recalling everything his older brothers and sisters had told him.  
  
"I think we're about halfway there but if he's really sick then maybe you should get one of the prefects or the Head Girls to help you out. They know where the nurse is. As for the snack part, I passed the cart on my way up here so she should be by soon," Patrick said.  
  
After sharing his "wealth" of knowledge, Patrick turned to leave.  
  
Before he could, though, the shaggy haired boy asked, "What year are you?"  
  
"Second. I'm a Gryffindor. My name's Patrick.Patrick Dolan, by the way," he replied.  
  
"Then how did you know all that stuff?" the chubby boy asked, sounding impressed.  
  
"I'm the seventh in my family to go to Hogwarts," Patrick answered, "Do you guys have names?"  
  
"I'm James Potter," said the unruly haired boy.  
  
"Sirius Black," coolly replied the shaggy haired boy.  
  
"Peter Pettigrew," stammered the chubby boy.  
  
"What about him?" Patrick asked, referring to the sleeping boy.  
  
"His trunk said Remus Lupin," James answered.  
  
"It's nice to meet all of you. I hope you're all Gryffindors," Patrick said, turning to leave again.  
  
He didn't get very far, though. Suddenly, two girls appeared in the doorway behind him. One girl had dirty blond hair, a face full of freckles, and blue eyes. She appeared to be dragging the other girl with her. The second girl dark red hair and startling green eyes.  
  
"Did you find somebody to help your friend?" asked the first girl.  
  
It seemed, to Patrick, that the first girl was probably from the wizarding world. She seemed too calm to be a Muggle born. Her friend, or whatever the other girl was, looked very nervous. She was probably a Muggle-born, surmised Patrick. They both looked to be first years.  
  
"We asked this second year and he told us," Sirius said, trying to make it sound like he talked to upperclassmen everyday.  
  
The two girls looked at Patrick.  
  
"I'm Madison Clarke," said the girl with the dirty blond hair, "and this is Lily Evans."  
  
"I'm Patrick," the wizard said again, shaking each girl's hand.  
  
He talked for a few more minutes with the group of first years about life at Hogwarts and the school's Quiddich teams. Then he bid them farewell. He had to get back to the compartment he had been kicked out of. His trunk, with his robes and things was in there.  
  
Walking down the length of the train, Patrick spotted one of his fellow second years. He was a shifty looking character that Patrick didn't know personally. He was a Slytherin, after all, and Patrick new not to associate with those kinds of students. He was also known for being proficient in the dark arts, something the Hound's Hollow born wizard would never dabble in. He was talking to a greasy looking first year with a hooked nose and a sallow complexion.  
  
"Don't you worry, Severus, we'll make sure you're taken care of," the older boy was telling him.  
  
Patrick didn't want to venture a guess at what that was supposed to mean. Instead, he walked faster back to his sister's compartment.  
  
"What are you doing back?" Kelly asked her little brother, as soon as he reentered the compartment.  
  
"I need my robes, Kel," Patrick replied.  
  
"Make it quick, squirt," Kelly retorted.  
  
For Patrick, the school year was nothing to write home about, though he did send many owls to his brother. The group of first years he had spoken with on the Hogwarts Express, James, Sirius, Peter, Madison, Lily and the sleeping Remus, had all been sorted into Gryffindor. The boy with the sallow skin and hooked nose, Severus Snape was his full name, was sorted into Slytherin.  
  
(AN: Well, now the stage is set for the rest of my story! Please, click that little button down there and review! Good, bad, indifferent.I don't care.) 


	4. The Final Dolan at Hogwarts

(AN: Thanks to my reviewer, mystic-starlight! I'm in college so my typing time is severely reduced. I'm going to try to update as often as I can. I'm glad to see you don't think the story's half bad. It does pick up one poor Patrick discovers how "gifted" he really is.)  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the extended Dolan family and Hound's Hollow (including all of its subsidiary locations). The rest of this stuff is property of its proper owners. I'm a broke college student who writes to pass the time before classes. (I really do write between college classes. in the halls, in the café, in the labs, and in the library.)  
  
Two years later.  
  
Patrick, now a fourth year, stepped on to the familiar platform that was Platform 9 ¾. He was followed through by Collin, now in his final year, and Kelly, who was in her sixth year. Bringing up the read was their mother and Christopher. This was to be Chris's first year attending Hogwarts.  
  
No sooner had they stepped on to the platform, Collin took off. He was the captain of the Gryffindor Quiddich team and he was already working on meeting with the rest of his teammates. He wanted to win the cup this year, the year before he left the school.  
  
Kelly, too, ran off. She had spotted her best friend, a witch named Ella, and was itching to gossip with her.  
  
With their mother gone, Patrick was left with his little brother.  
  
"What now, Patrick?" Chris asked a small amount of panic in his voice.  
  
Before Patrick could answer, he felt a tap on his shoulder.  
  
He turned around to face Madison Clarke, Lily Evans, and a small reddish haired Girl.  
  
"Hi ladies," Patrick said, making the three girls giggle.  
  
"Is this your little brother?" cooed Madison.  
  
"That he is! Chris, this is Lily Evans and Madison Clarke," Patrick said, talking to both Madison and Chris.  
  
He looked at the little red head with a bit of confusion. He wasn't sure who she was.  
  
"Who's your friend, Lily?" he, finally, asked.  
  
"Who? This kid? This is my little sister Daisy. She's going to be a first year, just like Chris," Lily said.  
  
Daisy smiled and gave a small wave. Chris responded likewise.  
  
"Patrick, could you please tell Collin to calm down?" someone asked from behind.  
  
"I know he wants to win but." added another voice.  
  
A groan from Lily told Patrick who was most likely standing behind him.  
  
The wizard from Hound's Hollow turned to face James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. They had, affectionately, been nicknamed the Marauders for all the chaos they caused.  
  
"It's all he talked about all summer, guys, there's nothing I can do, sorry," Patrick commented.  
  
The Marauders, as well as Lily and Madison who despised the little group, were in their third year.  
  
James was a Chaser of the Gryffindor house team and Sirius.well, Sirius, wasn't on the team but spent a great deal of time with the team. That included all of Collin's team meetings. Collin was both the team's captain and a keeper.  
  
The Scarlet steam engine whistled loudly, a sure sign it would be leaving soon.  
  
"We'd better get going," Patrick cautioned.  
  
He knew from experience that there would be a rush towards the train.  
  
Lily took her sister by her hand and Patrick, much to Chris's dismay, did the same.  
  
"No sense," he thought, "to losing him now."  
  
As they made their way toward the Hogwarts Express, Chris asked, "Are we going to sit with Collin and Kelly?"  
  
Patrick shrugged and replied, "I'm not sure. That really depends on them."  
  
The two brothers, after pushing their way through the crowd, got onto the steam engine.  
  
They found an empty compartment and were, eventually, joined by Lily, Daisy, and Madison.  
  
From the banging on the wall behind him, Patrick decided that the Marauders had taken up seating there. He knew that they'd be in and out of his compartment for the duration of the train ride, much to the disgust of Lily and Madison. They didn't bother him, of course. Having several older siblings had given him a high tolerance for annoying people. He thought the Marauders were very amusing. He was more worried about Chris falling in with them. His younger brother would fit in perfectly with their "style" of doing things. It was up to Patrick to see that he didn't fall in with them. 


	5. The Motion in the Woods

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the extended Dolan family and Hound's Hollow (including all of its subsidiary locations). The rest of this stuff is property of its proper owners. I'm a broke college student who writes to pass the time before classes. (I really do write between college classes. in the halls, in the café, in the labs, and in the library.)  
  
One fall afternoon, just before Halloween, Patrick found himself out by the lake. He was alternately watching the giant squid paddle around the lake and his brother doing Charms homework with Daisy Evans. He knew that where Daisy was Lily wasn't far behind. Where Lily was James and his friends were sure to follow. There was just something about Lily that drove usually self assured annoying James out of his mind. Well, that and the fact Madison had developed the biggest of crushes on Remus Lupin.  
  
While he was sitting, he noticed lots of motion in the, usually, quiet, Forbidden Forest. To him, it looked like flashes moving in and around the borders of the forest.  
  
Curiosity getting the best of him, Patrick got up and walked to the edge of the forest. He wouldn't go into the forest because it was against the school rules and, unlike some he knew, Patrick didn't break the rules.  
  
He found a great hiding spot in the groundskeeper's garden. Peering around a particularly large tomato plant, Patrick began to watch the blurs.  
  
At first, they only looked like moving splashes of white light.  
  
Once his eyes adjusted and he was able to see through the light, it was a whole different story.  
  
They were people or something that looked quite a lot like people. They were dressed in metal suits and some were carrying Muggle weapons that Patrick didn't recognize. The wizard couldn't even tell if the figures were male of female because they all seemed to have long hair that flowed out from under their helmets.  
  
"Patrick, where are you?" called Chris, breaking the older wizard out of his reverie.  
  
The red headed wizard tore his eyes away from the blurs and the Forbidden Forest and called, "Stay where you are Chris, I'm coming."  
  
He knew that he little brother was still a bit unsure about being alone on the Hogwarts grounds. Since Collin and Kelly were too "busy" to see to Chris, it had fallen on Patrick to act as his younger brother's guide.  
  
He walked out of the garden and back toward the lake.  
  
There he found his little brother, all alone.  
  
"Where's Daisy?" Patrick asked, a little annoyed that she would leave Chris all alone.  
  
"Lily came to get her a few minutes ago. She said Professor Destra wanted to talk to her," Chris responded.  
  
Professor Destra was the latest in a long line of Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. He was an older wizard with a heavy Italian accent. He was best known for his rambling lectures about nothing.  
  
"Did Lily or Daisy say why?" Patrick questioned.  
  
Last he had heard, Chris and Daisy were tied for top marks in his class.  
  
"Nope," Chris replied with a shrug.  
  
Seeing that it was close to dinner time, Patrick gave one last look toward the Forbidden Forest. Then he took Chris back to the castle.  
  
Nearly every afternoon following that day, Patrick found himself going back to the forest to watch the blurs in motion.  
  
He still hadn't figured out what they were and he didn't intend on asking anyone for help. This was his mystery, just like Professor Destra's reasons for talking to Daisy were Chris's.  
  
As far as he could tell, he was the only student---well, the only one he knew of---who could see these things.  
  
He tried to find information regarding them in the library but to no avail. These things, whatever they might be, simply didn't exist. This was according to every book in the vast Hogwarts Library.  
  
Instead of deterring the red headed wizard, it just served to make Patrick all the more curious.  
  
There was something about those blurs, something very important, that Patrick had to figure out. 


	6. The Creatures in the Forest

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the extended Dolan family and Hound's Hollow (including all of its subsidiary locations). The rest of this stuff is property of its proper owners. I'm a broke college student who writes to pass the time before classes. (I really do write between college classes. in the halls, in the café, in the labs, and in the library.)  
  
One day, while sitting in the groundskeeper's garden, up to the elbows of his robe in tomato plants, Patrick noticed that the blurs were moving in a more frantic than usual fashion.  
  
"Something must be happening," the wizard surmised.  
  
He inched closer to the edge of the garden to get a better view of what was happening. He had gone all the way to the fence of the garden before stopping himself.  
  
Suddenly, each of the blurs began entering the Forbidden Forest. They seemed to be making for its center.  
  
As, one by one, the blurs disappeared from his sight, Patrick thought, "Great, they're leaving. What now?"  
  
He didn't want to lose sight of the blurs, lest he was unable to find them again, but he also knew that entering the Forbidden Forest was...well, forbidden.  
  
Sighing, Patrick got up and brushed himself off. A decision had to be made, and it had to be made quickly.  
  
"Well, it is the lesser of the two evils, I guess," Patrick mused as he made his way into the forest.  
  
The first thing the red headed wizard became aware of was that he was breaking one of the most basic of Hogwarts ground rules. He was breaking a rule that he had been taught since day one at Hogwarts.  
  
He knew he should be a little nervous, nervous about getting caught and getting punished for his actions. Instead, he was kind of excited and slightly impressed by his own daring. He didn't think he had it in him to break the rules at school.  
  
"So this is why James and his friends do this so often," Patrick mused, with a bit of a mental chuckle.  
  
He kept walking, trying to be as stealthy as possible, staying just behind one of the blurred creatures.  
  
He followed them to a very large, old gnarled looking tree. The tree was mostly dark brown trunk and branches. Unlike the lush vegetation around him, this tree had no leaves or flowers on any of its branches. It looked like it was either dead or dying of some sort of tree illness. It appeared to the red headed wizard that the blurs were moving into and out of the tree.  
  
With several hours of daylight left, Patrick settled down behind some very large rocks. He figured that he was very well hidden and could sit and try to puzzle out what exactly was going on.  
  
Moments later, something behind Patrick caught his attention. He had the strangest feeling that he was being watched. The red headed wizard turned around and came face to face, nose to nose, with one of the blurred creatures.  
  
It had very long black hair, pointed ears, and quite tall. It, because he couldn't decide whether the creature was male or female, was wearing some type of oddly shaped armor and was brandishing a Muggle weapon.  
  
The creature said something to Patrick in a very melodic voice.  
  
"I'm sorry," the wizard said, very slowly, pronouncing every single syllable, "I don't understand."  
  
The creature looked at Patrick with a puzzled expression on its face.  
  
It finally spoke, saying, "Why have you been following us?"  
  
"I was just curious. I've been watching all of you do whatever it was you were doing at the edge of the forest for the past few weeks," the wizard, nervously, replied.  
  
The knight, or whatever is actually was, called out in its own language.  
  
An old man answered the call. Though he didn't look like the knight he spoke and appeared to understand the language it spoke. The two talked for several minutes, with the knight gesturing to Patrick every once and again.  
  
The old man said something to the creature in a very commanding voice. The creature disappeared faster than Patrick's eye could comprehend.  
  
The old man, then, turned his attention to Patrick.  
  
"Come; let us get you back to the school. I know you shouldn't be out here," he said, in a grandfatherly sort of voice. 


	7. The Gate Keeper

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the extended Dolan family and Hound's Hollow (including all of its subsidiary locations). The rest of this stuff is property of its proper owners. I'm a broke college student who writes to pass the time before classes. (I really do write between college classes. in the halls, in the café, in the labs, and in the library.)  
  
Patrick hesitated for a split second, unsure of weather or not to trust the man. He gave the old man a good once over. He was dressed in shabby gray robes with a pointed hat on his head and a heavy wooden staff in his hands. With the long white beard and hair, Patrick was forcibly reminded of Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.  
  
The two started to walk back towards the school, the old man walking next to Patrick.  
  
"How did you know I am a student?" Patrick asked, after finding his voice.  
  
"It says so on your robes, young man," the old man stated, gesturing with his staff to the Gryffindor crest on Patrick's black uniform robe.  
  
"May I ask you a question, sir?" started Patrick.  
  
The old man cut him off, saying, "You already have but go on anyway."  
  
Patrick gave the old man a puzzled look. He was trying to figure out what the old man meant.  
  
"What were those things back there? You seemed to be able to talk to them," the red-headed wizard asked.  
  
"I will tell you if, and only if, you promise not to tell anyone else," the old man retorted.  
  
"I promise," the young wizard stated, giving the old man his oath.  
  
"Those, young man, are elves," plainly stated the old man.  
  
Patrick, again, gave the old man a look of confusion. This time, though, it was mixed with disbelief. The only elves he had ever heard of were house elves and he knew that they did not look anything like the creatures he had just seen,  
  
"And, yes, you are the only one able to see them right now," the old man continued, ignoring the wizard's expression.  
  
"Well," Patrick surmised, mentally, "that explains a lot."  
  
Though he was thinking rather clearly all he managed to say was, "What?!"  
  
"I've been trying to keep them hidden from view or, at least, that is what I thought I was doing," the old man explained.  
  
"How?" Patrick stammered.  
  
"By magic, of course. It is far easier for me to do such a task here because of all the magical energy in the air," the old man answered.  
  
"Wait a minute. You're a wizard!" Patrick exclaimed, sounding stunned.  
  
"More or less, you can consider me a wizard. It would be easier for you if you did. I am called Gandalf the Gray. You are?" the old wizard asked.  
  
"I'm Patrick, fourth year Gryffindor," the red-head replied.  
  
Then he added, "How come I'm the only one who can see them?"  
  
The old wizard seemed to think for a moment, as if trying to remember some long forgotten bit of information.  
  
"You can see them, Patrick," the old man said, finally remembering, "because you are a Gate Keeper."  
  
"I'm a what?" Patrick asked.  
  
"A Gate Keeper," the old wizard said, slowly.  
  
Patrick shook his head. He wanted an explanation not a direct answer.  
  
"What does that mean?" Patrick asked, hoping this question would yield the answer he wanted.  
  
"Since you can see through my magic, you are a Gate Keeper. You, young man, have the power to not only see things from my world but to visit my world as well," Gandalf explained.  
  
Patrick was totally and utterly confused by this talk of other worlds.  
  
"Other worlds I can visit? What, in the name of Merlin, are you talking about?" hr thought to himself.  
  
He wanted to ask the old wizard a million and one questions but he was only able to vocalize, "What? Why? How?"  
  
The old wizard looked at Patrick in a grandfatherly sort of way.  
  
"Ah. youth" he said, laughing.  
  
Patrick didn't know what the old wizard was laughing about. To him, it looking like this man had never been.  
  
Then Gandalf began to explain.  
  
"You have a unique ability to open portals, or gates, at the spots where the barriers between my world and your world are the weakest. That tree back there is a very active portal but I caution you not to use it, yet. It opens to a place that has fallen into shadows and you would not be able to defend yourself against what you might meet there. I do not know why you were chosen to have these powers or how they came to be but they are yours to command. Do you understand?" he explained, all the while leading Patrick back towards the school.  
  
The young wizard thought for a moment and replied, "Not really, sir. What are you talking about? How do I even open these gates?"  
  
"You need not open them, Patrick, for they will always been open to you. You just have to step through them. You may even take others through with you but I suggest you pick those people wisely. You will know where the gates are but I am not sure how," Gandalf continued to explain.  
  
"But where to they open to?" Patrick asked.  
  
"To my world, Middle Earth," Gandalf answered as they reached the main entrance of the Hogwarts School.  
  
Patrick wanted to ask more questions but, to his shock, the old wizard had vanished. 


	8. The First Gate

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the extended Dolan family and Hound's Hollow (including all of its subsidiary locations). The rest of this stuff is property of its proper owners. I'm a broke college student who writes to pass the time before classes. (I really do write between college classes. in the halls, in the café, in the labs, and in the library.)  
  
Badly confused but exceedingly curious, Patrick made his way up to the enormous Hogwarts library. He was hoping to find some answers there.  
  
Instead of finding answers, Patrick found his brother Chris and Chris's friend Daisy. They were both talking and appeared to be very excited about something.  
  
Middle Earth, portals, and Gandalf momentarily forgotten, Patrick went to find out what was going on.  
  
"Why are you two so happy?" Patrick asked his brother and his brother's friend,  
  
"No reason," Chris replied, obviously lying.  
  
"Yeah, no reason at all," Daisy added, also lying.  
  
"That's nice guys. Now the truth," Patrick demanded.  
  
He then added, "or I could just write mom, Chris, and I can always tell Lily that you're lying, Daisy."  
  
"Alright," Chris said with a sigh, "Daisy and I have the highest marks for the Defense Against the Dark Arts for out whole year."  
  
"Not just that, but Professor Destra gave us this test thing today and we scored better then some sixth and seventh years." Daisy added with a smile.  
  
"Good for both of you," Patrick, proudly said.  
  
He, suddenly, remembered why he had come to the library in the first place.  
  
"I'll see you two later. I have to look for something," Patrick said with a wave.  
  
Days later, Patrick still had no solid information regarding Middle Earth, portals, or Gate Keepers. It seemed that these things or places didn't actually exist.  
  
"Maybe I just imagined the whole thing. That forest is known for weird things," Patrick began to think.  
  
He didn't believe it, though. Something about what that old man had said was true and that truth was bothering Patrick like a headache. The young wizard still wanted to find out if Middle Earth was real.  
  
Since Patrick was a fourth year, he was allowed to go to the village of Hogsmeade on specific days. Most of the time, he didn't go. He preferred to stay at the school and keep his brother company. They would work on spells or just "hang out" since they had the entire Common Room to themselves, mostly. Sometimes Daisy would "hang out" with them, must to Chris's delight. Chris and Daisy were fast friends and Patrick suspected that there was going to be more to their relationship someday.  
  
On Chris's urging and the nagging need to buy Christmas gifts, Patrick went to Hogsmeade.  
  
When he arrived at the village, Patrick found that he didn't want to shop. He felt that there was something else for him to do.  
  
He began to walk, letting his feet take him where they would. He wound up walking straight through the village's Main Street, pasting the Shrieking Shack to the outskirts of town. He had never been out this far before and he hoped he remembered how to get back.  
  
"Getting lost is the last thing I need. Imagine all the trouble I'd get into," he mused.  
  
He wanted to turn around, to walk right back into town, but his feet didn't want him to. Instead, they forced him to walk further into the hills.  
  
The village of Hogsmeade seemed nothing more than a tiny speck, by the time Patrick stopped walking. Not that he would have noticed the size of the village or anything like that.  
  
Instead, Patrick found himself staring at a sheer rock face.  
  
At first it appeared to be solid. Then something odd began to occur.  
  
It seemed like a wave passed over the rock. It began to ripple, as if it were made of liquid, and then lighten from gray.  
  
When the motion finally stopped, except for some slight rippling around the edges, Patrick found himself looking into, what appeared to be, another world.  
  
He could see a slate gray sky, as if winter had already set in, and leafless tree trunks. The ground might have been grassy but the grass appeared to be covered with a fine layer of frost. He could see no people or animals of any kind.  
  
"Is this what I think this is?" Patrick questioned himself.  
  
"He said I'd know where they are and that they'd open for me," Patrick thought, answering his own unspoken question.  
  
Deciding that testing Gandalf's words was a whole lot better than debating them in his head, Patrick closed his eyes and stepped through the portal. 


	9. Into Middle Earth

(AN: Please, Please, Please read and review!)  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the extended Dolan family and Hound's Hollow (including all of its subsidiary locations). The rest of this stuff is property of its proper owners. I'm a broke college student who writes to pass the time before classes. (I really do write between college classes. in the halls, in the café, in the labs, and in the library.)  
  
When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in the scene from the rock wall.  
  
He turned a complete circle and saw that, somehow, he had stepped out of his own world and into this other world.  
  
"So, if that was a portal," he rationalized, "I must be in Middle Earth! He wasn't lying after all."  
  
Looking around, Patrick could see nothing but an open field of frost crusted grass and leafless trees.  
  
"Seems like this place is empty. Maybe this portal opens to a cattle grazing plain or something" Patrick thought.  
  
Not wanting to lose sight of the portal back to Hogsmeade, Patrick made his way across the field.  
  
Patrick was so busy looking around him, drinking in the sights and hoping that something wasn't planning on ambushing him from the sides that he failed to notice the land change in steepness.  
  
He tripped and began to roll down a hill. The wizard came to rest at the feet of a very large horse.  
  
The horse, spooked by the sudden appearance of the boy, stepped back but did not run. Its rider has calmed it with a few words.  
  
Patrick got up and brushed himself off. From his roll down the hill, he had wound up covered in dead leaves and frozen soil.  
  
"I'm sorry. I'll just be going now," Patrick said, turning to try and get back up the hill.  
  
Suddenly, he found himself flanked by tow horses and he heard rather than saw the other horse box him in from behind.  
  
Patrick knew he couldn't make a run for it and he didn't want to try and reach for his wand.  
  
"They may think I'm trying to attack them," he decided.  
  
He decided to turn and face the riders, showing them that his hands were empty.  
  
On his left and right stood two identical brown horses with identical white markings on their noses.  
  
The riders, who were riding bareback, were as identical as their mounts. Both were strikingly tall with black hair and grey eyes.  
  
In front of him, since his back was to the hill he had fallen down, was a pure white horse.  
  
Its rider was also very tall and was riding bareback.  
  
The only difference was that this rider had whitish hair and lighter eyes.  
  
To Patrick's astonishment, all three riders appeared to have pointed ears.  
  
"They're elves," Patrick rationalized, using his limited knowledge of Middle Earth and its creatures.  
  
One of the riders, the one on the white horse, said something to Patrick in the same language he had heard back in the forest near Hogwarts.  
  
"I'm sorry but I do not speak your language. I'm not from around here," Patrick said, hoping these riders understood him.  
  
"If they don't," he thought, "I'm in big trouble."  
  
A few tense moments passed until the rider on the white horse asked, "Who are you and what business do you have here?"  
  
"My name is Patrick, sir, and I don't even know where here is," the wizard answered, his voice full of honesty.  
  
The three riders began to talk among themselves using their own language. Patrick just stood there. Though he didn't know the language, Patrick surmised that they were trying to decide what to do with him.  
  
"You are to come with us," said one of the identical riders.  
  
"Go where?" Patrick, afraid, asked.  
  
"To our father. He will know what to do with you," the other identical rider announced.  
  
"Please, don't start any trouble because of me. How about I just go?" Patrick suggested.  
  
He didn't want to be taken anywhere. All he wanted to do was get back up the hill so he could go back to his own world.  
  
"We can not allow you to 'just go,' as you put it," said the rider on the white horse, "you will come to Rivendell with us now and we will see what you are."  
  
With that, the rider on the white horse lifted Patrick up and placed him in front of him on the horse. With a word, the group sped away.  
  
Patrick was much too scared to notice the scenery as it sped past them. He had never been on a horse before, not even in his Care of Magical Creatures class.  
  
When they finally stopped, Patrick was taken aback by the sight in front of him.  
  
He had expected some kind of rough wooden cabin or something to that effect.  
  
He found himself gawking at some type of structure built into the valley.  
  
Trees grew through the centers of rooms and much of it appeared to be open to the air. To the young wizard, the entire placed seemed like one big work of art.  
  
It was not as tall as Hogwarts but it seemed a whole lot wider.  
  
"What is this place?" Patrick asked.  
  
"This is Rivendell," answered the man on the white horse.  
  
The white-haired rider helped Patrick off the horse, while the two identical riders lead the three horses away.  
  
He, then, began to walk swiftly towards the building. Patrick had to jog just to keep up.  
  
"Excuse me sir, what is this place? It is a city or something?" Patrick asked, figuring that, like his grandmother, the rider couldn't walk so swiftly and talk at the same type.  
  
The white-haired rider stopped and regarded Patrick for a moment.  
  
He made a comment in his own language and laughed about it.  
  
"It is not a city, in the strictest sense of the word. It is more like a refuge, a place for those who need peace, rest or healing," he replied, still walking swiftly.  
  
"So, who are we going to see?" Patrick wondered aloud.  
  
He figured it might be a council of some kind, like the Ministry of Magic, or maybe to see a king of some kind, like in the Muggle fairy tales he learned about at school.  
  
"The lord of this valley and his guest. I believe they have been expecting you," the white-haired rider replied.  
  
He led Patrick into one of the buildings and down several halls and up more flights of stairs than the young wizard could remember. They, finally, stopped, in front of a set of ornately carved doors. The white-haired rider knocked sharply and opened the door. He motioned for Patrick to enter before him. The young wizard entered, followed by the rider who shut the door behind him. 


	10. Rivendell Talks

(AN: Thanks for the review! Please, please, please read and review! I like feedback almost as much as I like chocolate.)  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the extended Dolan family and Hound's Hollow (including all of its subsidiary locations). The rest of this stuff is property of its proper owners. I'm a broke college student who writes to pass the time before classes. (I really do write between college classes. in the halls, in the café, in the labs, and in the library.)  
  
"What did you and my sons find now, Glorfindel?" a man with pointed ears requested upon their entrance to the room.  
  
The man, elf, whatever he was wore regal looking robes and had dark hair. As far as Patrick could discern, he was probably an elf. He was sitting at one end of a very long table with someone Patrick recognized.  
  
"Good, Gandalf's here," he mused, "Maybe he can vouch for me and they'll let me go."  
  
"This young man, literally, fell into the valley, Elrond. We, that is I, think he may be the boy Gandalf told you about," Glorfindel answered.  
  
Instead of turning his attention to Patrick, like the young wizard expected him to, Elrond turned to Gandalf.  
  
"Is this your gatekeeper?" Elrond asked Gandalf.  
  
Gandalf gave Patrick the once over, just to make sure he was who he appeared to be.  
  
"He is, Elrond, though he is just a boy," Gandalf, finally, answered.  
  
It was now the elf's turn to give Patrick a good looking over. Patrick felt incredibly small under Elrond's gaze.  
  
"This guy's older then he looked," Patrick decided.  
  
The only other time he'd ever felt so small was under the gaze of his great- grandparents back in Hound's Hollow.  
  
"Young man, what is your name and where are you from?" Elrond questioned.  
  
Patrick looked from Gandalf to Elrond and answered, "My name is Patrick Dolan and I'm from Hound's Hollow."  
  
From the way Elrond reflected on the answer, Patrick got the distinct feeling he was being interrogated. He got the impression that this was, most likely, how James and his gang felt when they were being questioned about some prank they had caused.  
  
"Did you come here from your Hound's Hollow?" Elrond asked.  
  
"No, sir, I did not," Patrick, simply, replied.  
  
"Then how did you get here?" the elf countered.  
  
Patrick composed himself for a very long explanation.  
  
"I came here from just outside of Hogsmeade. I was visiting there with some of the other students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he explained, knowing full well that he was going to be asked to explain these terms.  
  
Elrond looked confused and seemed to be unable to formulate another question.  
  
Gandalf stepped into the role of questioner and requested, "Why do you not explain that part to Elrond, Patrick?"  
  
Patrick obliged, explaining everything from Hogwarts to why he wandered away from Hogsmeade. He tried not to leave out any detail, no matter how tiny. He didn't want to have to explain himself further. Plus, he was having a small problem explaining things that appeared to be so obvious, so normal to the people in his world.  
  
"You see, Elrond, he is the gatekeeper despite the fact he is just a boy. You, above all others here, should understand the potential all children have," Gandalf murmured, after Patrick had finished.  
  
"If you are who Gandalf claims you to be, then you are always welcome to Rivendell, Patrick the Gryffindor from Hound's Hollow," Elrond said to the wizard.  
  
"Thanks, I think," Patrick replied, not sure how to respond to such a formal greeting.  
  
"Do you have any questions for Lord Elrond, before I take you back?" Gandalf asked the Hogwarts trained wizard.  
  
Patrick thought for a moment, sifting through everything he had discovered, and nodded.  
  
"I have three questions. First, who were those other guys who brought me here? Second, are all of you guys elves? Third, where is here exactly?" Patrick asked, counting off the questions on his fingers.  
  
Elrond laughed and replied, "To answer your second question first, yes, everyone you have met thus far are elves. The other two elves who brought you here are my sons, Elladan and Elrohir. Finally, this is where you are."  
  
To answer Patrick's final question, Elrond pointed out their location on a map he had on the table.  
  
After bidding Elrond a farewell, Gandalf took Patrick just outside of Rivendell. A portal, just like the one that had opened in the rock, opened in a very large tree. Through the portal, Patrick could see an alley between a couple of homes. He recognized the street as being in Hogsmeade.  
  
"Thank you for vouching for me today," Patrick said to the old wizard.  
  
"It was no problem. You have now taken your first step into a wider world. No go on---back to Hogwarts with you," Gandalf said to a friendly chuckle.  
  
Patrick waved to the old wizard and crossed back into his own world. 


	11. The Old Order

(AN: Please, Please, Please read and review!)  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the extended Dolan family and Hound's Hollow (including all of its subsidiary locations). The rest of this stuff is property of its proper owners. I'm a broke college student who writes to pass the time before classes. (I really do write between college classes. in the halls, in the café, in the labs, and in the library.)  
  
As time passed, Patrick began to discover that portals were everywhere. They opened in the faces of rocks and in the walls of buildings. They were nearly always outdoors and in very obvious places.  
  
Some just opened to fields and dense forests while others lead to more inhabited places. He had, so far, located portals to the pastoral Shire, dreary Bree, the White City of Gondor, the city on a hill of Rohan, and the Golden Woods of Lothlorien.  
  
As he traveled to and from these places, Patrick learned mush about the lore and legends that governed Middle Earth. He also learned about how the magic in Middle Earth had, in essence, created the magic in his world.  
  
Meanwhile, the wizarding world began to change. A dark lord, who had been rising since his days at Hogwarts, had come to full power. His followers were wreaking havoc in both the Muggle and the Wizarding world. It seemed that no one could oppose him.  
  
That is, until Albus Dumbledore created the Order of the Phoenix. This order was meant to try and discern a way to defeat Lord Voldemort and his followers. The order consisted of wizards from every walk of life in the wizarding world.  
  
"Hey, big brother, we're over here," called Chris, as Patrick entered the hideout of the Order of the Phoenix.  
  
The Patrick who walked across the room was now a married man. He had married a former Ravenclaw named Kathleen. His wife had tried her best to convince him not to go, for her sake and the sake of their young son, Conner. She had wanted him to stay at home and just work in his newly opened wand making shop. Patrick could not sit and do nothing; he had to help out in some way.  
  
Patrick found his brother standing with his usual group of friends. Chris, upon his graduation from Hogwarts, had started training to become an Auror. He wasn't training alone, though. A few months into his training, he married his long time best friend, Daisy Evans. The two were no highly ranked Aurors for the Ministry of Magic. With Chris stood Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and, Remus's wife, Madison Clarke, as well as James Potter and his wife Lily Evans. That couple still baffled Patrick. For as long as he could remember Lily hated James.  
  
"How's Kath?" Chris asked.  
  
"Angry at me for coming. I suppose she'd rather have me home instead of getting involved here," Patrick answered.  
  
"It's good you came, we're going to need all the help we can get," Lily told Patrick.  
  
"Besides, it's always better when you don't listen to that banshee," Daisy, offhandedly, added.  
  
Since her marriage to Chris, Daisy and Kathleen began to feud. The two women flat out hated each other but nobody could figure out why. They just rubbed each other the wrong way.  
  
"By the way, Patrick, congrats on the baby. How old is the little bugger now?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Thanks Black. He's nearly three but better late than never I guess," Patrick replied with a wiry smile.  
  
Patrick looked around the room and saw that he could not identify half the wizards and witches present.  
  
"Geeze, I knew the Hollow was out of the way but this is ridiculous," he thought to himself.  
  
"Guys, who are half these people?" Patrick asked his brother and his friends.  
  
He figured that, since most of them worked for the Ministry of Magic, they would know more about this than he would. Chris and Daisy rattled of most of the names.  
  
Patrick recognized the names of Frank and Alice Longbottom but that was about it.  
  
"Not to self, I need to get out more," Patrick mused with a mental laugh.  
  
"How's---um---M.E.?" Madison asked carefully.  
  
They all knew about Patrick's portal traveling ability. They also knew that Patrick didn't like to discuss this ability in the open.  
  
"I think they're having problems there, too," Patrick replied.  
  
"What kinds of problems?" Lily asked, concerned that it might have something to do with Voldemort and his followers.  
  
"They're not being too specific but, from what I gather, some kind of shadow has fallen or is falling. Whatever it is, it has all the elf lords in an uproar," Patrick replied.  
  
"Does Voldemort have anything to do with it?" James asked, cutting right to the point.  
  
"'Cause if he does, Dumbledore should know about it," added Chris.  
  
"Do you think we could even fight a two-front war like that?" Daisy, wondered, aloud.  
  
"As far as I've been told, mind you my sources are very reliable; he has nothing to do with it. It's some kind of evil native to their world and their world alone," Patrick explained.  
  
The group of witches and wizards looked relieved by that piece of news.  
  
"You should tell Dumbledore, anyway. He might be able to use that information to our advantage somehow---maybe," Remus said.  
  
"I will but I have this funny feeling he already knows," Patrick replied.  
  
After the meeting, Patrick took the train to Hogsmeade. He wasn't really interested in visiting the village. Middle Earth was calling him and Patrick, for some reason, found himself physically unable to ignore the siren call. 


	12. Snowdrop

(AN: Please, Please, Please read and review!)  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the extended Dolan family and Hound's Hollow (including all of its subsidiary locations). The rest of this stuff is property of its proper owners. I'm a broke college student who writes to pass the time before classes. (I really do write between college classes. in the halls, in the café, in the labs, and in the library.)  
  
Patrick walked down the main road, following the same familiar path he had taken the first time he had gone to Rivendell. Checking to make sure that he wasn't being watched or followed, Patrick crossed into Middle Earth.  
  
Elrond had once told Patrick that he was always welcomed to visit Rivendell. Patrick had taken advantage of that invitation by coming to visit as often as he could. Usually, he could be found in the vast library reading some ancient looking book. Patrick could, by now, read and write in elvish but he never tried to speak it.  
  
When asked why, he's always respond by explaining how foolish he sounded speaking it.  
  
"That language was mean for far fairer voice," he'd always say.  
  
If he wasn't in the library, Patrick could be found in the stables. After much teasing from Elrond's sons and daughter, Patrick agreed to learn how to ride a horse. It was most certainly a skill that many other wizards lacked but Patrick enjoyed it. Cantering about the valley on horseback was must better than walking.  
  
Upon entering the large complex that was Rivendell, Patrick was hit with a sense that something was very wrong. There was a great deal of tension and worry in the air.  
  
"I hope I didn't come at a bad time," the wizard thought, as he walked.  
  
He took the very familiar route to Elrond's study, trying to figure out what, possibly, could be wrong. He knew that there had been a problem brewing with some kind of dark lord but that was quite far off.  
  
"Near someplace called Mirkwood," Patrick remembered.  
  
He, himself, had never been to Mirkwood. It was to far from any portal he knew of and he had never found a portal that led him there.  
  
Patrick found the door to Elrond's study wide open.  
  
"Quite unusual. He, normally, keeps that door closed," Patrick thought.  
  
He knocked on the open door and, getting no response, let himself in. He found the elf lord staring out into the valley.  
  
"He looks more worried than usual," Patrick mused.  
  
Knowing that the elf heard him enter, Patrick cleared his throat and asked, "What seems to be the matter, sir?"  
  
The elf turned and acknowledged Patrick's presence.  
  
"It is nothing," Elrond replied, sadness tingeing his voice.  
  
Patrick got the sense that the elf lord was not being truthful so he pressed him further.  
  
"There's something wrong here. Either you tell me or I'll ask one of your kids. They'll tell me," Patrick threatened.  
  
A shadow seemed to pass over the elf's face at the mention of his children. Patrick knew that he had hit a nerve.  
  
Elrond sighed and explained, "My daughter is missing. She left around this time last year to visit her grandparents and I have heard nothing from her since. I fear the worst. Elladan and Elrohir have ridden out once more to look for her."  
  
Patrick, feeling sorry for the elf, offered his best wishes. He, then, excused himself and hurried out of Rivendell. There was something he could do to help.  
  
Two portals later, Patrick found himself in Lothlorien. These woods, full of golden trees and unearthly music, had become Patrick's favorite location in Middle Earth. The only downside to visiting the Golden Woods was that the portal opened on to the guard's flet.  
  
The first time he appeared on the flet, he was bounded and taken to see Galadriel and Celeborn by the march warden, an elf named Haldir. Thankfully, he was use to Patrick appearing now.  
  
After a quick chat with Haldir, Patrick was able to gain a measure of the information he was looking for.  
  
Patrick made his way into the heart of the forest. The elf had said that the person he was looking for was, indeed, there and that she was safe. He would not, however, divulge why she had not returned to Rivendell. He had said that it was not his place to give that information out. That was the responsibility of the elf Patrick was searching for.  
  
He went to the location where the guard had said she was staying. He knocked on the narrow entrance and, moments later, found himself starting down at a little black-haired child.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked, looking him over with big dark eyes.  
  
Patrick scrambled for an answer, unsure of how to approach the child. He had been expecting someone much older.  
  
Finally, he said, "My name is Patrick. May I speak to your mother or father?"  
  
The little girl paused, thinking. Then she nodded her head.  
  
She took the wizard's hand and led him inside.  
  
"Mother, someone is here to talk to you!" she called.  
  
The moment he entered the room, Patrick recognized the little girl's mother.  
  
Her mother, Elrond's daughter Arwen, saw Patrick following the child and managed to turn a whole lot paler. She knew her secret was out.  
  
After taking Patrick to her mother, the little girl bounded out of sight. This left the woman and the wizard in a very uncomfortable silence.  
  
"Hello, Patrick. Please sit. What brings you out this far?" Arwen asked, taking a seat.  
  
Patrick followed suit and replied, "Your father, actually. He's worried sick about you. He wants you to come home right away."  
  
"Did he say why?" she asked.  
  
"Something about a shadow. It either is falling or has already fallen, I'm not sure which," the wizard answered with a shrug.  
  
The half-elven woman nodded, well aware of what was happening in the outside world, but looked hesitant to leave.  
  
Checking to see if the little girl was out of earshot, Patrick, quietly, asked, "Is she yours?"  
  
The half-elf looked at the wizard and replied, "She is the reason I am here. I was scared, Patrick, so I ran. I did not know what else to do."  
  
Patrick was half taken aback by that statement.  
  
"Well, she's very cute. How old is she?" the wizard commented.  
  
"About a year. Her birthday, as you would call it, was just a few days ago," Arwen replied, using terminology more familiar to the wizard instead of her own culture's ideas.  
  
"You do know who her father is, right?" Patrick blurted out before he could stop himself.  
  
It was the question that had been running like a marquee through his mind.  
  
"Of course I do," Arwen answered indignantly, "What do you take me for?"  
  
"Anyone I know?" Patrick, causally, asked, trying to defuse the tension he had inadvertently caused.  
  
"I don't know if you know but I am sure you have heard of him, my brothers and father talk about hi from time to time. He is called Estel, or Strider. His right name is Aragorn," she answered  
  
Patrick thought for a minute and then nodded. He had never met this person but he had heard a great deal about him.  
  
"Speaking of your brother, your father told me that they were headed to find you," Patrick announced.  
  
Then he added, "From what I gather, they may be here by nightfall."  
  
"Nightfall? What am I to do?" Arwen said; panic seeping into her voice and expression.  
  
"As I see it, you have three options. One you go home with your brothers and bring the baby and tell your father everything. Two, you go home but leave the baby here in your grandmother's care. Three, I'll take her to my world and someone there could raise her," the wizard suggested.  
  
Arwen acknowledged that those were probably the three best, most logical choices.  
  
"And I do not have much time to decided," she mumbled.  
  
"That you don't, my friend that you don't" the wizard assured her.  
  
Several hours later, Patrick found himself taking the little girl to his world. Her mother did not feel it was safe for the child to be in Middle Earth. Patrick suspected that was only a part of her reasoning. The other part dealt with having to face her father.  
  
Bother mother and child cried profusely at their parting. Patrick felt terrible but this wasn't his choice to make. All he could do was pick the child up and take her out of Middle Earth.  
  
The portal opened into an alleyway in Muggle London. The Wizarding World was not safe for the little elf either. He decided to leave her in a Muggle orphanage. At least there she would be safe.  
  
Patrick glanced at the little girl. She wasn't overly tall, which struck him as unusual since all the elves he knew were tall, and she had pointed ears, like any other elf. That fact didn't worry Patrick, though. Her ears could be hidden by her long mane of inky black hair.  
  
"Munchkin, what's your name and when is your birthday?" the wizard asked.  
  
"My name is Niphredil," she answered with a slight elvish lilt to her voice. She gave her birth date, on the elven equivalent to it, in her native elvish.  
  
"Great, this is going to be a problem," the wizard thought.  
  
He hadn't realized that the little girl, probably, thought in elvish.  
  
"Niphredil," Patrick began, slowly, "you're a smart little girl right?"  
  
The elfling nodded happily.  
  
"Do you like to play pretend games?" Patrick asked.  
  
Another nodded and the elfling added, "At home, I pretend to be a ranger."  
  
"We're going to play a pretend, alright? I want you to pretend you're not an elf," Patrick explained.  
  
"I am an elf, mother said so," the child answered.  
  
"I know you are, and all elves are special, but pretend you're not," Patrick said, stressing the word "pretend."  
  
She nodded and, as they walked toward the gray stone building, Patrick told her what to do and say.  
  
(AN: I know I'm really messing with Lord of the Rings cannon. Please forgive me, I just write to pass the time and have fun.) 


End file.
